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The Montane Trailblazer 25L is a meticulously crafted backpack to elevate your hiking experience. This innovative pack seamlessly blends comfort, functionality, and sustainability, making it an ideal companion for day hikes, gym sessions, and daily commutes. With its 25-litre capacity, I found the Trailblazer 25L a perfect-sized day pack for hiking and hill walking. It was large enough to …

Gregory's Stout and Amber Rucksacks use a combination of highly durable fabrics combined with an adjustable back length to provide a very comfortable pack. Comfort is a highlight with these packs and the combination of adjustable back length, adjustable wraparound hip belts and the usual straps mean that you can really personalise the fit. They may not be the lightest packs, but with all the optio …

With so many packs to choose from it can be hard to know where to start - here are a few pointers to help with your selection.Start with CapacityPin down the capacity you need by looking at your gear - if you have an old rucksack and you know its capacity then use this to guage what capacity you need. If it's for winter as well as summer use you'll need extra capacity for extra, bulkier gear - if …

2023 was an excellent year for new ultralight equipment and clothing, and we wanted to highlight some of our favourite gear that hit the market this year. Some pieces, like the Montbell Plasma 1000, pushed the limits of what it means to be ultralight even further. Others, like the Nemo Tensor Extreme Conditions sleeping pad, showed real innovation by raising their R-value to an industry-leading 8. …

#1 Take a Waterproof Cap: The hoods on shell jackets are generally pretty good, some have a decent peak but the lighter weight ones can be poor in this respect. None of them can beat wearing a waterproof cap under the hood though, the large peak keeps the rain off your face and it helps keep the hood from shifting when you turn your head. #2 Two bags are better than one: Check …

As the nights are drawing in and the temperature is starting to dip, we are excited about the prospect of the upcoming winter camping season. Winter camping can be more challenging, but it can also be incredibly rewarding. Cosy nights curled up in the tents, crisp frosty mornings, and dark star-filled skies are all only a few months away. So, we have teamed up with our friends at EXPED to de …

This year’s ‘The Great Outdoor Challenge’ (TGOC) allowed me to take the Gregory Focal 58L rucksack out into the Scottish Highlands, whilst I’d attempted to make it from Plockton in the West to Montrose on the East Coast. For the TGOC, most look for a pack size between 45 litres (minimalist, certainly compromises to be made on kit) to 70 litres (preparing for all eventualities with a few e …

The lightweight backpack of your dreams is here. Meet the versatile pack that hauls it all. The Flex Capacitors is a beast of backpacking pack, constructed from durable nylon for rough conditions in the backwoods and built with adjustability in mind. Loosen the expanding horizontal gussets for cargo capacity on longer backpacking trips, or cinch it tight for smaller, compact loads on fast summit d …

Big Agnes would not be a name that springs to mind when considering a proper expedition backpack. To be completely honest very similar to choosing footwear we often tend to stick to the brands we know are tried and tested. A backpack can be a very personal item and an ill-fitting pack that causes issues on route will inevitably ruin an otherwise enjoyable trip. To quickly skip to the e …

May means one thing here in the Ultralight office, The Great Outdoors Challenge, or the TGO for short. We are incredibly proud to be a sponsor of this communal coast-to-coast crossing of Scotland. Three of our team, Danny, Chris and myself, are participating in this year’s TGO, so I thought I’d give you an insight into what’s in my pack and some of the gear I’ll be taking for this year’s chal …

Exped’s Lightning 60 rucksack has recently been updated to be lighter and tougher, whilst importantly keeping its minimalist roots. We gave the Lightning 60 some heavy use in the Cairngorms and the Isle of Arran to see how it would fit into life for multi-day wild-camping in the late Scottish winter months. With a weight of 1180 grams and a high capacity of 60L, you’d expect the low w …

Osprey’s Exos packs are best sellers; and for backpacking loads over say 15kg they are a good choice, offering a comfortable carry at a low weight. Typically weighing in at 1.3Kg there are lighter options for ultralight backpackers where the target weight is around a kilogram for a fully spec’d backpacking rucksack of between 50 and 60 litres capacity. A few years ago  Osprey p …